Task
Some people say that the only reason for learning a foreign language is in order to travel to or work in a foreign country. Others say that these are not the only reasons why someone should learn a foreign language.
Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
Candidate’s Answer
This is written by a candidate who achieved a Band 7.0 score.
Many may say, and I agree, that today’s society has almost erased all its boarders and soon will become limitless in what concerns travelling for both work and pleasure. Therefore, if this is to happen, then learning a new language is necessary.
Nowadays, learning a new language for the purpose of working in other countries seems to become more and more popular. Adults in need of money or, why not, recognision are trying to pursue their happiness far away from home. Also, the hey days of employers looking only for capable people have gone. It seems that today’s employers are looking not only for multi-skilled employees, but they also want people who know more than their mother tongue. Sooner or later, those who omitted learning more are prone to become jobless.
However, to my mind, a new language shouldn’t be learned just for travelling or working in a foreign country. A foreign language should help the learner broaden his mind. By this I mean that the new language should and will allow us to understand more about the world itself, and maybe our ancestors’ ways of thinking and acting. Needless to say, knowing another language will help us when it comes to understanding the human race, because language is the first poem of a country.
All of this being said, I believe that learning a different language should be not only for satisfying our physical needs, like money, but also our moral needs, because never before had such a big thirst for knowledge been displayed.
Examiner’s Comment
All parts of the prompt are addressed and a clear position is presented throughout the response. Main ideas are extended and supported. Ideas are logically organised and there is a clear progression throughout the response. A range of cohesive devices is used flexibly, while each paragraph has a clear central topic which is developed. The lexical resource is sufficient to allow some flexibility and precision and although there are a few spelling errors, these do not detract from the overall clarity of the response. A variety of complex structures is used with some flexibility and accuracy. Grammar and punctuation are well controlled and error-free sentences are frequent.
